“Rectify,” a hypnotic new series from the producers of “Breaking Bad,” takes us to a fascinating place: the mind, heart and world of a man who's suddenly released from prison after spending 19 years in isolation on death row.

It premieres at 8 p.m. Monday in a two-episode block on Sundance Channel.

Daniel Holden (Aden Young) was sentenced to death after being convicted as a teenager of the rape and murder of his girlfriend. But because of new DNA evidence, his sentence has been overturned; it's up to the court whether he will be retried or simply set free.

Meanwhile, not only does Daniel find it difficult adjusting to his new freedom in a world he no longer recognizes, but his family also struggles with the shock of having him back. As for his small town of Paulie, Ga., his release is strange and, to many, alarming. Some remain convinced Daniel is guilty of the crime that sent him away.

Though the viewer is supplied clues — some of which are grisly and startling — as to whether Daniel or somebody else killed the girl, “Rectify's” creator and writer Ray McKinnon insists his drama shouldn't be viewed as a whodunit, but something much deeper than that.

“The more interesting part of the story is not who did it, but how does a man reacclimate himself back to this world when he's been in a box for 19 years, for more than half of his life?” McKinnon said at a recent Sundance press session. “And how does a family reinvent themselves when this person literally or figuratively comes back from the dead? And so a lot of this story is about the human dynamics between the family, between Daniel, and between the town.”

The sensitive performances, particularly by relatively unknown lead Young, help keep the viewer engaged, despite what, at times, can be an unnervingly slow pace.

An amusing moment has stepbrother Teddy referring to Daniel as “Starman,” and he does indeed seem like a visiting alien. At home, he greets technological advances we take for granted — such as cellphones and movies on DVD — with wonder. At a convenience store, he also eyes energy shots in a bottle, slushie machines and hot dogs turning over and over on metal rollers with amusement.

We smile, too, when Daniel buys a Smart Water at a convenience store and asks the clerk: “Does this work?”

“I thought in order to play this character, I have to start from (the perspective) of a baby,” Young said of his approach to the role. “I'm entering a new world. I'm a man who fell to earth.”

Daniel's return represents different things to those around him. It's pure joy to his younger sister Amantha (Abigail Spencer), who has never wavered in her belief in his innocence, and a source of anxious confusion to his loving mom, Janet (J. Smith Cameron), who had grown used to the loss of her son and had made peace with his impending death.

It's also a threat to new family members, particularly the son of Janet's new husband. After devoting himself to the family business, Teddy (Clayne Crawford) fears it will be taken away and given to Daniel.

However, to Teddy's gentle and spiritual wife Tawney (Adelaide Clemens) — somewhat of an outsider herself — Daniel is a welcome enigma, a burst of childlike relief in a world that can be crass and cold.

“Rectify,” because of its lazy, hazy, almost dreamlike execution, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no arguing it's an intriguing piece of television. Between this original drama and the earlier “Top of the Lake” and “Restless,” Sundance is becoming the new go-to channel for curious and edgy programming.

Jeanne Jakle's column appears Sundays and Wednesdays in mySA, and she blogs at Jakle's Jacuzzi on mySA.com. Email her at jjakle@express-news.net.